EDITORIAL

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It's time for a dose of reality President Barack Obama is taking his vacation not a moment too soon. As his painfully poor performance in the health-care debate shows, he is way off his game. He clearly needs some time to recharge his batteries.

Plus, an Israeli diplomat does the right thing There is no doubt that Governor Deval Patrick had — and has — much better ideas about reforming and restructuring the state's transportation infrastructure — including the Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority — than the legislature.

Better than you think, but his health-care plans are a problem Politics, an old cliché holds, is the art of the possible. Achieving the possible is a matter of power. And in a media-saturated democracy, power flows to those with good poll numbers.

A meaningful debate about Massachusetts will take intelligence and courage Charlie Baker, former head of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and onetime finance chief for governors William Weld and Paul Cellucci, was scheduled to file papers this week to officially open his gubernatorial campaign. With that, he also unofficially kicks off the 2010 Massachusetts election season.

Memories of Vietnam should speed Obama's exit plans for Iraq and Afghanistan As secretary of defense under President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara prosecuted the Vietnam War on a day-to-day basis, just as Donald Rumsfeld orchestrated the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq for George W. Bush.

Plus, Massachusetts needs a DNA-testing law The folks on Beacon Hill deserve credit for crafting a budget in this extraordinarily challenging fiscal climate that will hopefully sustain services at a level just short of disastrous.

It's time Obama moved vigorously to advance gay and lesbian rights If you are gay or lesbian, or if you care about realizing social justice, you must be wondering when Obama is going to turn his attention to the fact that one in 10 of the nation's more than 230 million adults are second-class citizens.

The Iranian uprising; plus, Yoon disses the BRA The presidential election stolen from Mir Hossein Mousavi was not really an election at all. It was a sham, an elaborate beauty contest produced by the Islamist theocracy that holds the real power in Iran. The mullahs pick the candidates and the outcome.

Three new ways of thinking The race to elect a new mayor of Boston has been in progress for several weeks, and at last there are indications that the candidates are capable of intelligent thought — at least about improving the city's public schools.

A noble pick that highlights a political flash point. Plus, California's shame. There is a pleasing symmetry to President Obama's nomination of federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor to the United States Supreme Court.

Plus, vote for Passoni Former vice-president Dick Cheney has taken his torture tour all over the place in the past few weeks, waging an ongoing campaign to defend what the Bush administration called "enhanced interrogation."

New taxes may be needed. Plus, why Massachusetts can take pride in the Serve America Act. State House of Representatives leaders have served the Commonwealth well with their austere new budget: they have shown us the tremendous sacrifices we will need to make, and the drastic cuts that will be put into effect, if we don't raise new revenues.

A public-health crisis; plus, gay marriage advances A couple of weeks ago, David S. Bernstein wrote about the growing "state sovereignty" movement backed by anti-government conspiracy theorists and gun-rights extremists, and touted on the syndicated radio show and Web site of deranged agitator Alex Jones.

General Motors: What's really at stake President Barack Obama did the right thing in ousting Rick Wagoner as head man at General Motors. Already there are a few encouraging signs that the GM community realizes it is time to step on the accelerator.